Maslyn: A Different Kind of Name for a Delightful Little Girl is a book about the difficulties of starting school, meeting new friends, and fitting in with peers. This book is for children ages 3 to 12. The subject matter in this book is not only from a child's perspective, but from a parent's perspective as a mother sends her child off to school for the first time. This book is about a young girl who goes through her first week of Kindergarten noticing the differences in others, and the competitive nature of life at a young age. The author believes that communication is an important part of raising children, and so the story reflects on daily conversations between a mother and her daughter after school each day. These conversations help mold the path for her daughter to becoming productively independent and responsible. Each situation in the book is based on real dilemmas that Maslyn encountered her first year of school, and her mother's responses to those issues. The summer after Maslyn's Kindergarten year, the author wrote these discussions down on paper, wanting to share them with her daughter after she was grown. Maslyn (age 6) created the bright and beautiful illustrations to compliment her mother's reflection back on the talks the two had together during her first year of school. This book was a terrific project to cooperate on between a mother and her daughter. Maslyn: A Different Kind of Name for a Delightful Little Girl is dedicated to Maslyn Elaine Hull, who is a wonderfully brilliant little girl and smart beyond her years.

Maslyn

A Different Kind of Name for a Delightful Little GirlBy Amanda Brink Hull

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2009 Amanda Brink Hull
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4389-9338-6

Chapter One

Maslyn was a delightful little girl with sandy brown hair.

Her blue eyes sparkled, and she smiled a lot.

Life was simple for a little girl with big dreams, until she started school.

Kindergarten was a great way to meet other kids her age, but everyone was so different. And, different was hard.

Some kids had glasses, some did not. There were kids who talked a bunch, and others who hardly talked at all. Some girls had long hair, others had short hair, and some in-between hair. Some boys even had long hair. Some of the kids in Maslyn's class had really nice clothes, and others looked as if they just rolled out of bed each day.

To make matters even more confusing there were kids who wanted to be Maslyn's friend, and then there were kids who did not even try to get to know her at all. Plus, Maslyn was a different name. No one in her class had ever heard of the name Maslyn before.

What was such a delightful girl to do?

After the first day of Kindergarten, Maslyn asked her mother, "Mom, why are all the kids in my class so different? Why is my name different?"

"Everyone in the world is different, just like snowflakes. If everyone was the same, the world would be a very boring place," her mother explained.

Maslyn enjoyed her first day of school, but on day two Rachel told Maslyn that Maslyn's clothes were not as cute as her own.

Rachel thought her clothes were the prettiest, pinkest, and most perfectest.

Maslyn came home from her second day of Kindergarten and her blue eyes did not have the sparkle they usually had. "Mom, Rachel told me that my clothes were not the prettiest, pinkest, or most perfectest. Maybe we could go shopping tonight to buy the most perfectest clothes ... prettier than Rachel's."

Maslyn's mom giggled. "Maslyn, clothes don't make you more perfect than any other little girl. Your smile is prettier than any clothes money could buy. You are already the perfectest! Plus, if you wore what Rachel wore, you wouldn't be unique. It's good to be you, it's good to be different."

On day three of Kindergarten Maslyn made sure to pick out the prettiest outfit she could find; despite what her mother said the day before. Her eyes sparkled as she got on the bus that day. She could not wait to get to school. She hoped everyone would notice her beautiful blue dress.

Caleb noticed Maslyn as soon as she walked off of the bus. "Wow, what a pretty dress! Does it swirl and twirl when you spin?" he asked.

Maslyn could not have been prouder. She spun ... and spun ... and spun as she made her way into the school.

On day four of Kindergarten NO ONE remember the magnificent blue dress Maslyn wore on the third day of Kindergarten.

But on day four, Maslyn did learn a new game at recess. Tag. Thomas and Michaela came up to Maslyn and asked her to play. Maslyn of course said, "Yes!" She was ready to play anything. She loved games!

Thomas was "it". He tagged Michaela. Michaela was slow. Anyone could tag Michaela because she could not run very fast. Michaela got tagged and was never fast enough to get untagged.

Maslyn came home and told her mom, "We played tag today at recess. Michaela was slow. She could not run fast enough and was always 'it'. She was so slow, she could never catch anyone else, so she was 'it' all day. No one wants to play tag with her again!"

"Maslyn," her mom lectured, "Michaela may not be a fast runner, but she has been a good friend to you. Wasn't Michaela the one who helped you with your homework on Tuesday? She may not be as fast as Thomas, but she is good at her alphabet and numbers."

On Friday, the fifth day of Kindergarten, the whole class got to take a test to see what they learned in the first week of school. Everyone was excited to take their first test. First, the class had to write their name on the top, right-hand corner of the paper. Then, they had to write numbers from 1 to 10. After that, they had to write down the alphabet ... the whole thing A to Z! Maslyn got this done lickety split.

Clare, who sat next to Maslyn, had trouble and could not remember what number came after 6, and what letter came after V. Plus, Clare wrote her name in wrong corner of the paper.

Hailey and Jack, who also sat at Maslyn and Clare's table, saw Clare's mistakes. They started to laugh at Clare. This made Clare sad and embarrassed.

Maslyn whispered to Clare, "It is okay, I forgot what came after V on Tuesday, but Michaela helped me. Everyone learns differently. You'll get it right next time. It's okay. Don't be sad."

Clare stopped crying and gave Maslyn a little smile.

Hailey and Jack stopped laughing.

When Maslyn got home that day from school, her mother asked her what she learned in her first week of Kindergarten.

She exclaimed, "I learned how to right my numbers one through ten, I learned how to write my alphabet, and even the difference between left and right. But, the most important thing I learned was that everyone is different. Different is good, and it definitely is not boring. I like being different."

Maslyn's mom said, "Good, I am glad you learned so much in your first five days of Kindergarten. Numbers and letters can be hard. And, you learned an important lesson on top of your school work. You learned that different is good, and it means you are unique. Once you accept your differences, you can appreciate others' differences. You are the most delightful little girl I know!"

"Thanks, Mom." Maslyn said with a gigantic and bright smile.

She was proud of herself for the lessons she learned. She could not wait for Monday, to go back to school, and to find out who or what would be different next week.

The End

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Maslynby Amanda Brink Hull Copyright © 2009 by Amanda Brink Hull. Excerpted by permission.
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